Newly formed band ‘Crown Chakra’ performed as the closing act at the ‘Demon Daze Open Mic Night’ this October, taking the stage and making their debut performance in a packed, sweaty Lyon’s Den. An all-freshmen band and new to the Wheaton music scene, Crown Chakra was introduced to the crowd as a “group to watch out for,” a statement with which I agree. While shaky on their first go, the band successfully performed some popular hits such as Radiohead’s “Creep” and an impressive rendition of Billie Eilish’s “Happier Than Ever”. After this spectacular performance, I was granted the opportunity to sit down with four members of Crown Chakra who performed that night for a chance to get to know the people behind the music.
Crown Chakra during their debut performance in the Lyon’s Den. From left to right, Cole Arsenault ’28, Maddie Gugliotti ’28, Felix Safdie ’28, and Lawson Nathanael Davis ’28. (Photo by Muhammad Niang Jr. ’28)
During our interview, I was joined by guitarist and founder Cole Arsenault ‘28, lead singer Maddie Gugliotti ‘28, bassist Felix Safdie ‘28, and guitarist and interim drummer Lawson Nathanael Davis ‘28. Missing are drummer Charlie Margiloff ‘28 and guitarist Jacob Perry ‘28 who were not available due to other commitments but are a part of the band and will be featured in future performances on the aforementioned instruments. From the rest of the group, I learned what Crown Chakra was all about. Recounting how Crown Chakra was formed, Arsenault walked me through how he met each member of the band. Bassist Felix Safdie was the first member Arsenault found, saying he “met Felix over Snapchat over the summer.” When asked to describe his first music-related encounter with Safdie, Arsenault recounted that “I just randomly snapped him one day and he sent me a photo with his bass and I asked, ‘What’s that?’ And I actually saved the message of him saying it’s a bass guitar and after that, I said ‘You’re in my band.’”
Arsenault continued, describing how he met the next member, guitarist Lawson Nathanael Davis- “I met him the first couple of days we moved in. We were at one of the 8 a.m. orientation meetings… and the only two people besides faculty and staff members in the front row… I looked over and he was tapping his feet and his legs to the music that was playing in the background. So I was like, ‘Hey- are you a drummer?’ and he said ‘No, I’m a guitarist.’ So I scooched even closer, got his number, and connected him with Felix.” The final member Arsenault recalls finding was lead singer Maddie Gugliotti, saying that “after the co-op mixer… I held a little audition-ish just kinda jam session… three, almost four, singers sang and it was a good time, it was a good jam session. And then afterward I texted Maddie and I said ‘Hey, you sounded really good- do you want to try out for the band?’ She said yes and ever since then it’s been the four of us”.
While one-on-one with the four members, I was able to capture each individual’s musical journey that led to their joining Crown Chakra.
Individual Interviews:
How did you get into music?
CA: My dad was a musician in college, and I got a lot of my inspiration from that.
MG: I started doing music through theater when I was younger and now I’m just here.
FS: My dad plays bass. My grandfather played bass. Every holiday we would have parties and I would go to the parties and everyone would be playing music. We had so many great musicians there that inspired me including my bass teacher now, who played with Beyoncé and Justin Timberlake. She’s incredible and so I think watching her over the years just has opened my mind, and opened my eyes to music.
LND: My family plays a bunch of music. My mom sings. My older sister can play a bunch of different string instruments and sounds as well.
How long have you been playing/singing?
CA: I’ve been playing the guitar for eight years, self-taught, and I often just, like, listen to records and play off what I hear.
MG: I’ve been doing lessons for two years but I always just liked to sing.
FS: I’ve been playing bass for ten years.
LND: I’ve been playing drums for like three weeks… guitar I have been playing for two years.
Who or what inspires you to play music?
CA: I’d say mainly Jimi Hendrix was like the main guitarist inspiration that inspired me to play electric [guitar].
MG: My brother really did.
FS: Definitely my bass teacher, my dad, my family, friends, just all their support.
LND: I guess I’d say most of my family.
Who or what is your favorite artist and/or song?
CA: I would say, probably Jimi Hendrix’s “Little Wing”.
MG: Right now I’ve been listening to “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over” a lot.
FS: My favorite song is definitely “Spit It Out” by Slipknot and my favorite artist has to be, honestly, probably Metallica.
LND: I don’t know… I’ll just say Alvin and the Chipmunks.
After talking with each person individually, I was fortunate enough to get these four members together for some group questions, and they have some great chemistry. The affection and admiration for each other as people and as musicians can be seen in how they interact with one another. Every answer I received from the following questions had a pleasant group banter which I have tried to replicate below.
Group interview:
What was your first performance like?
LND: It was really sweaty.
MG: It was really hot.
CA: Yeah, it was hot, it was hot.
FS: It was cool.
MG: I was really nervous because I don’t know. I just wanted everyone to think we’re cool.
CA: I was nervous too, and I tried to act as if I wasn’t, to kind of make everybody else feel like ‘we got this,’ and I gave a little pep talk before.
MG: But you were fine, we were fine.
CA: I was nervous too, but it was, it was so fun that the nerves weren’t really there.
MG: Everyone was so nice.
LND: People were, like, really nice. My first thought was…
MG: People were so nice.
LND: …that was my second thought, cause I was like, I was like, they’re gonna figure out that I’m not really a drummer.
What do you admire most about performing with each other?
MG: We have a lot of fun… I think we can rely on each other really well, you know. We know if one of us is a little off, one of us can pick up the slack.
CA: I’d like to say first of all, Lawson, picked up the drums in two seconds. So I mean, that’s the thing. He was able to just fill in the spot the second I said that Charlie was not gonna be able to make it because of soccer… he was like ‘I got it’. That was huge for us to have that versatility. So big props to Lawson. And Felix has just been steadfast the whole way, he can just pick up on anything… anytime we’re trying to learn a new song he’s just right there with us. And Maddie gives me goosebumps every time she hits a high note. So it’s just the connection that we have is unmatched.
MG: Good buddies.
LND: I appreciate all of their encouragement. They’re all really decent people, so it’s good. They’re not gonna throw a chair at you like Fletcher from Whiplash.
MG: It’s good to play with people you like.
As my time with Crown Chakra came to an end, the group shared with me the hopes for the band’s future at Wheaton. Gugliotti stated that “We’re all first years on purpose so that we could try to keep this band going throughout the whole four years”. When asked where they wanted to end up by the end of their freshman year, Arsenault and Gugliotti both responded with just two words: “Wheaton Woodstock”. As for the more immediate future, their next scheduled performance is on February 15 as participants in the ‘Battle of the Bands’. However, there will most likely be more opportunities to hear Crown Chakra next semester, as the group is specifically looking at the Lyon’s Den for another performance soon.
Follow the band on Instagram @crownchakraband for direct updates on future performances!